The Beguiled (2017)

The Beguiled is a re-make of the Civil War period drama that originally stared Clint Eastwood in 1971. The re-make stars Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman. It had an interesting premise of an injured Union solider who deserted his camp. He is saved by a young girl who brings her back to her home, a school for girls in Virginia. The solider is first met with distained but the longer the stays the more he intrigues the lonely, young women. His presence soon stirs lust and jealousy amongst the women and girls, which nearly causes them to turn against each other and eventually against him.

The acting from the entire cast was quite good, especially that of the main four (Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning). The costumes and the cinematography we good as well. The pieces used were able to transport you to the late 1800s and the filmography did a great job of capturing the vastness and loneness of the situation that the women were in. It all seemed very accurate for the time period.

In contrast, the movie was rather short and felt rushed at the end. There was a lack of character development so in quite a few scenes you had to deduct for yourself what was going on or why it was going on. One of the final scenes toward the end of the movie is a prime example of that. I was confused by the extremely drastic measures that were taken at the end, it almost didn’t seem warranted. By the closing I felt like I missed something and I needed more context. This movie could have really used the help of a fuller backstory.

Overall I felt indifferent about this one. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t really that great either. It’s probably one that I won’t see again. For those that are a fan of Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman or Kristen Dunst you might want to check it out, but everyone else, I’d suggest skipping it.

Justice League

Justice League is the sequel to Batman v Superman. In this story Batman is trying to put together a team of super heroes to defeat an enemy that is coming to destroy the world.

There were a lot of mixed reviews that had come out so I wasn’t really sure what I was going to get. The critics had issues with the cast chemistry and the character development. I however, thought that there was just enough character development to make you want more and that the cast chemistry was pretty good. I particularly enjoyed the new additions to the group - the stoic, serious Cyborg played by Ray Fisher, the quirky, youthful Flash played by Ezra Miller and the tough, cool Aquaman played by Jason Momoa. Ezra Miller, in my opinion, was the stand out star. I remembered him as Credence Barebone in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and he was able to portray something completely in this film. He had great comedic timing and was able to showcase a really likeable, eccentric character.

The plot was predictable and there were a couple of scenes that could have used a little more backstory and a little less CGI but overall I thought it was a great continuation of Batman v Superman. It also was a good jump off for Aquaman who will have a stand-alone movie in 2018.

For those looking for something that’s entertaining with some really great action sequences and a touch humor, I’d recommend checking this one out.

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok is the 3rd in the Thor franchise and in my opinion the best. It had comedy, it had drama and it had action. In this story Thor is imprisoned and must fight for his life so that he can return to Asgard to save his people and his home from ruin by the villain, Hela.

I liked the themes of picking yourself up when you are down, having confidence in your own strength and what "home" means. I also really enjoyed the introduction of the strong female leads played by Cate Blanchet as Hela and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie. I thought that both of them did an awesome job portraying the good and evil. I also thought that the rest of the cast did a great job playing off of one another. Additionally, the script was quite clever and funny and the plot was entertaining. 

For the most part the action sequences and the choreography were crisp, there were only a couple of scenes were it really did look like a green screen. I also found the Tron-like soundtrack and ending credits to be an odd choice but overall I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it.

Snatched

Snatched is the story of Emily, played by Amy Schumer, who gets dumped by her boyfriend right before their romantic vacation to South America. She convinces her restrained mother, Linda, played by Goldie Hawn, to go with her instead. After some poor decisions made by Emily, she convinces her mother that they should hang out with a man that she met the night before. The day trip quickly turns into a kidnapping and Emily and Linda have to set aside their differences to work together to escape their kidnapers and get back home.

Overall, the movie was okay. I liked the dynamic that Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn had and the script did have bits and pieces of comedy. I also liked that it wasn’t a very long movie and that it wrapped up quickly.

Where the movie lost me was that plot was unrealistic and at times some of the parts that were supposed to be funny came of as too raunchy, even for me. Also characters, who were supposed to be funny just translated as annoying, especially Emily’s brother, Jeffrey. All in all, I don’t think that I would want to see this movie again.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth in the Pirates franchise. If you’ve seen one Pirates movie you’ve seen them all. They are just fun little nuggets that don’t require a lot of deep thought. I always enjoy Johnny Depp was drunken Jack Sparrow and they brought back Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, which I appreciated. I also really liked the soundtrack and the new generation of young actors that joined the cast.

What was a bit disappointing was Javier Bardem’s character, Captain Salazar. Javier plays a great villain so the disappointment was not in regard to his performance, it was the CGI. The visual portrayal of his character was such a distraction. I felt like the cinematographers could have taken a different path in making him look undead without all of the slow motion camera shots and completely fake looking head. I’m also kind of disappointed that they set this movie up for another sequel. I felt like they could have easily wrapped this in the last movie so I’m really hoping the sixth one will be the last one.

Overall I’d say that this movie isn’t a must see but for those like me, who already feel invested in the franchise and just want to push through, then I say check this one out.